The hitch was unhitched, and we closed today! Hubby is in New England Town and just finished closing...we're officially homeowners!
This is a huge relief for me, especially, because I've been going back and forth with the underwriter for more than a week, running and jumping, scanning and e-mailing all sorts of documents every time she called. I've had the two little ones on my own at my in-laws home, while trying to get through jet lag, no routine for the kids, and way too much stuff to do.
While there, however, we had some quality time with family at the shore and at a river-side beach resort, where Hubby's aunt served up some fresh Maryland steamed crabs drenched with Old Bay--ZOMG they were so delicious! Eliza got to play with her cousins, and she couldn't get enough. She literally followed her older cousin around everywhere she went. Hubby and hid dad successfully got All The Things We Left Behind moved into storage in New England Town (NET), and made it back safely. The girls were very happy to see their Daddy again, and so was I. Once he got back, I was finally able to have a tiny bit of time to myself (pedicure+hair appointment=one happy AcadeMama).
The drive from Hubby's hometown to NET wasn't bad at all, but living out of a suitcase has defnitely gotten old. Staying in hotel rooms for many nights with a 4-year old and 2-year old has gotten even older! They're like stir-crazed, caged animals...playing with the phone, the radio, the remote, and everything else they can get their hands on. Not listening to either of us and generally running amuck despite all our efforts to keep them occupied.
Luckily, we leave for Disney tomorrow. Hubby and the littles fly out from Big New England Town, and Hannah and I fly out of Home State, with all of us meeting in Orlando. It's beyond wonderful that we'll get to go with the home closing out of the way. I firmly plan on enjoying every second of our time there!
All in all, everything has thus far worked out someway or another. We're all set with movers scheduled to move everything in the day after we get back from Disney, and then we'll have some serious unpacking, settling in, and decorating to do!
Showing posts with label buying our first home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label buying our first home. Show all posts
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
A Hitch in the Housing Process
After endless documents requested, sent, signed, etc., I woke up to find an e-mail from our mortgage lender indicating that my employment letter from New England School is not sufficient for the underwriters. Even though it clearly indicates that I'm employed for the next year and provides my salary amount, the underwriters don't see it as a guarantee of employment. Instead, they want a contract, like what Hubby has. Well, guess what? Hubby is tenure-track faculty, so he gets a contract in the spring. Me? Not so much.
When I visited NES in April, the person I spoke with in HR explained that the contracts for Visiting Lecturers don't usually go out until late-July or early-August (typical for academia). However, the lender asked me to "reach out" to my boss and ask if I could get my contract earlier than this. I explained that I would try, but that I very much doubt she'll have any authority over when HR can issue contracts.
Can I just say how humiliating this all feels? I'm stuck in a helpless position, having to hope, beg, and plead with an employer who, as of yet, has no relationship with me at all. They don't know me, and they have no obligation to care whether or not my family has a home to live in. But, it's really completely in their hands. I get the distinct impression from our lender that, if I can't come up with a contract, we will not get this house.
Adding to this utterly depressing and frustrating development is the time zone factor. That is, since we're 7 hours ahead of EST, I wake up to this e-mail and then sit and wait for 7 hours before I can even put in a phone call to NES and see where they stand on the whole contract issue. An. Agonizing. Seven. Hours. During which time, all I want to do is cry.
Really? I could be fucking homeless for the entire summer? This is what I have to look forward to? My nerves are shot and now, so is my spirit.
When I visited NES in April, the person I spoke with in HR explained that the contracts for Visiting Lecturers don't usually go out until late-July or early-August (typical for academia). However, the lender asked me to "reach out" to my boss and ask if I could get my contract earlier than this. I explained that I would try, but that I very much doubt she'll have any authority over when HR can issue contracts.
Can I just say how humiliating this all feels? I'm stuck in a helpless position, having to hope, beg, and plead with an employer who, as of yet, has no relationship with me at all. They don't know me, and they have no obligation to care whether or not my family has a home to live in. But, it's really completely in their hands. I get the distinct impression from our lender that, if I can't come up with a contract, we will not get this house.
Adding to this utterly depressing and frustrating development is the time zone factor. That is, since we're 7 hours ahead of EST, I wake up to this e-mail and then sit and wait for 7 hours before I can even put in a phone call to NES and see where they stand on the whole contract issue. An. Agonizing. Seven. Hours. During which time, all I want to do is cry.
Really? I could be fucking homeless for the entire summer? This is what I have to look forward to? My nerves are shot and now, so is my spirit.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
RBoG (Random Bullets of Giddiness)
- Now that I have the news from the Assoc. Dean at NES that I'll have three courses for the fall, and two of them are the Women Writers to 1900 course, which I've never taught, I can't stop thinking about all the wonderful possibilities for the course! I'm actually giddy with delight in thinking about which anthology to use, which supplements to include...Should I focus on British women writers because that's really who I'm most interested in? What kind of assignments would work well and are appropriate for this 300-level class? And, how can I make it the Best. Fucking. Women's Writer's Course. Ever!?
- Everything is connected. Getting the third course pretty much gives us the green light on the house, as well as a decent monthly budget. In turn, this means that we can proceed with buying things like furniture, bedding, a bed for our oldest daughter, dishes...you know, things that people kinda need to have when they move into a new house. While in NET (New England Town), I went ahead and picked out a bedroom suit that Hubby and I had agreed upon previously, as well as a mattress/boxspring set. I put down a 20% deposit, and that ensures they'll have it in stock and ready to deliver the day we move in--yay! I also picked out living room furniture, of which Hubby approved, and all I have to do is call to place the order to get it in stock and ready for delivery as well. I'm holding off on dishes because the ones I really, really want
(aren't they gorgeous?)
are almost double what I budgeted. I'll wait and see how all the other expenses turn out--especially the inevitable unexpected ones--before I buy anything. We will, however, need to buy a refrigerator ASAP since the house doesn't come with one. I have one in mind, and we don't have many options because of height issues, but again, I'll wait until we get on the ground before doing the buying.
- The Assoc. Dean was happy to submit a verification of employment to our mortgage lender, and he just passed along the good news that he was able to lock us in at a 4.5% rate for the loan, which is fantastic! Given that the closing costs are approx. $3,400, and we've already put $3,000 down in escrow, the money we'll need for pre-pays and escrow is very reasonable. We're not required to put down anything on the house since we're using the VA loan benefit, thank God!
- The only thing I'm not so giddy about is health insurance. Since we'll technically be unemployed for July and August (our contracts don't begin until September), we'll have no insurance unless we: a) pay for COBRA at over $900/month, b)apply for MassHealth, the state-subsidized Medicaid program that we may or may not qualify for, or c)buy short-term health insurance, which really isn't an option because they don't cover pre-existing conditions and two of us have them. That takes us back to option A: COBRA. In addition, NES has a probationary period of 60 days before employees are covered. This means we'll have to purchase coverage through COBRA for 4 months at more than $900/month. Don't know how we're going to do it just yet, but it has to happen. Right now, we're just saving everything we can, trying to live frugally over here (a difficult feat in Doha), and plan for all the relocation expenses we can foresee.
Many of these things--the good stuff and the bad--have been keeping me from getting any sort of sleep. I don't remember the last time I went to bed before 11:00 p.m. Staying up that late is very rare for me, so most of the time I'm exhausted in the mornings and trying to talk myself out of napping the rest of the day. I don't want to make a habit of taking sleeping pills, but the anti-anxiety meds my U.S. doctor prescribed haven't been helping lately. Not sure if there's anything to do other than just ride it out for the next five weeks.
- Everything is connected. Getting the third course pretty much gives us the green light on the house, as well as a decent monthly budget. In turn, this means that we can proceed with buying things like furniture, bedding, a bed for our oldest daughter, dishes...you know, things that people kinda need to have when they move into a new house. While in NET (New England Town), I went ahead and picked out a bedroom suit that Hubby and I had agreed upon previously, as well as a mattress/boxspring set. I put down a 20% deposit, and that ensures they'll have it in stock and ready to deliver the day we move in--yay! I also picked out living room furniture, of which Hubby approved, and all I have to do is call to place the order to get it in stock and ready for delivery as well. I'm holding off on dishes because the ones I really, really want
(aren't they gorgeous?)
are almost double what I budgeted. I'll wait and see how all the other expenses turn out--especially the inevitable unexpected ones--before I buy anything. We will, however, need to buy a refrigerator ASAP since the house doesn't come with one. I have one in mind, and we don't have many options because of height issues, but again, I'll wait until we get on the ground before doing the buying.- The Assoc. Dean was happy to submit a verification of employment to our mortgage lender, and he just passed along the good news that he was able to lock us in at a 4.5% rate for the loan, which is fantastic! Given that the closing costs are approx. $3,400, and we've already put $3,000 down in escrow, the money we'll need for pre-pays and escrow is very reasonable. We're not required to put down anything on the house since we're using the VA loan benefit, thank God!
- The only thing I'm not so giddy about is health insurance. Since we'll technically be unemployed for July and August (our contracts don't begin until September), we'll have no insurance unless we: a) pay for COBRA at over $900/month, b)apply for MassHealth, the state-subsidized Medicaid program that we may or may not qualify for, or c)buy short-term health insurance, which really isn't an option because they don't cover pre-existing conditions and two of us have them. That takes us back to option A: COBRA. In addition, NES has a probationary period of 60 days before employees are covered. This means we'll have to purchase coverage through COBRA for 4 months at more than $900/month. Don't know how we're going to do it just yet, but it has to happen. Right now, we're just saving everything we can, trying to live frugally over here (a difficult feat in Doha), and plan for all the relocation expenses we can foresee.
Many of these things--the good stuff and the bad--have been keeping me from getting any sort of sleep. I don't remember the last time I went to bed before 11:00 p.m. Staying up that late is very rare for me, so most of the time I'm exhausted in the mornings and trying to talk myself out of napping the rest of the day. I don't want to make a habit of taking sleeping pills, but the anti-anxiety meds my U.S. doctor prescribed haven't been helping lately. Not sure if there's anything to do other than just ride it out for the next five weeks.
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